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Bruce Kiselstein

Estate planning Attorney at Mount Prospect, IL

5.0   28 reviews
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First time estate planning
Paula
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
Hired Attorney
Bruce Kiselstein
Linda
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
Hired Attorney
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About Bruce

Learn Bruce’s areas of practice.

3
Practice areas
  1. Estate planning
    40%
    Attorney Kiselstein has been a premier estate planning lawyer in the great state of Illinois since 1978. If you haven't prepared your estate yet, stop procrastinating! Act now, so your children don't have to.

    37 years

  2. Trusts
    40%
    If you need to establish or amend a trust, call Attorney Kiselstein.

    37 years

  3. Probate
    20%
    Attorney Kiselstein is a knowledgeable and professional probate lawyer. For any probate needs, call him now to review your options.

    37 years

     I've been practicing law since 1978, after graduating from John Marshall Law School. For the first 10 years of my practice, I was a litigation attorney, handling divorces, personal injury, product liability, and even a few  criminal matters.  I returned to John Marshall Law School in 1987 for one year, to attend their Masters in Tax Law (L.L.M) Program and began my estate planning practice in late 1987. My practice has been limited to Estate Planning, Trusts, Estate Administration (closing of estates), Probate, and Asset Protection, for the last 33 years.  Our office has been located in Mt. Propect, on Northwest Highway, since 1989.

     I was born and raised in Southern Connecticut and attended the University of Connecticut for my undergraduate degree.  I moved to Chicago in 1975 to attend law school. I have been married to the same amazing woman for 39 years and I live in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago. I have two adult children, a grandson, and a rescue Greyhound named Turbo. I enjoy travelling, hiking, biking, music, and building furniture in my workshop.

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A Little About Me

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A Little About Me
State IL
Status Retired
Acquired 1978
Updated 01/06/2023

We have not found any instances of professional misconduct for this lawyer.

Contact Bruce

Similar lawyers nearby

Kiselstein Franckowiak Law Group
930 E Northwest Hwy
Mount Prospect, IL, 60056-3444
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Reviews

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5.0 / 5.0
  28 customer reviews
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Posted by Paula | December 27, 2017
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
First time estate planning
Bruce took ample time to explain any and all details of planning and creating the best trust for me. Patient with my repetitive questions and flexible with appointments. Could not have asked for a more trustworthy and comfortable person to work with for such an important matter. Not sure this process could have been made any easier. All necessary forms (and there are a lot) were ready for signatures as well as those forms to submit to other entities (ex. banks) were provided. I highly recommend Bruce for your planning needs! I work with a few individuals which also need to create their own trusts and once they decide to move forward with this task, I am sure they also will be contacting Bruce.
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Posted by Linda | October 22, 2017
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Bruce Kiselstein
Bruce has been my husband’s and my trust lawyer for many years. We never left his office with questions because of his thorough explanations and patience answering our questions. My husband passed earlier this year. Bruce was thoughtful and caring, helping me through the process of restating my trust. Once again he thoroughly explained, then patiently answered my questions until I understood. I would and have recommended him.
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Posted by Carolyn | October 5, 2017
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Estate planning
Bruce handled our estate planning. He was helpful, straightforward and did the job in a timely manner.
Posted by Claudia | October 5, 2017
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Remarkable combination of expertise, experience and compassion
I feel fortunate to have found Bruce. He is clearly an expert in his field and also someone who genuinely understands all the issues that come up around families and the estate planning process. I felt I got great guidance from Bruce and would highly recommend him to anyone going through this process.
Posted by Dave | August 20, 2017
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Great Estate Planning Help
Bruce helped my husband and I with a trust, wills, and powers of attorney. He was thorough, explained everything in detail, and put us at ease during the entire process. We absolutely recommend him!
Posted by anonymous | June 2, 2017
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Excellent estate planning
Bruce was explanatory about the estate planning process and potential impacts possible. His historical knowledge of changes to the Federal and Illinois law were impressive. Having a tailored estate for our stage in life with young children gives us peace of mind.
Posted by Aldina | May 23, 2017
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Dr. Aldina Levy
We hired Bruce to do our living trust. He did a great job on explaining everything that we needed to know. He was very professional and we could not we happier with our choice. He was recommended to us from a family member and we would recommend him to anyone else who is looking to do estate planning.
Posted by Melissa | May 22, 2017
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
A True Professional!
My sister in law referred us to Bruce as an excellent estate planning attorney. My husband and I recently had our first baby and wanted to ensure he was taken care of in the event of the unthinkable. Bruce and his staff were well prepared, organized, and thorough. He took the time to ensure we understood all the material, and answered our questions completely. We walked away knowing exactly what we needed to do. I walked in expecting this to be a cumbersome and long process, but Bruce made everything easy. We felt in very good hands with Bruce and his team.
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Posted by Rickie | May 17, 2017
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Set up trust
I used Bruce to set up a trust after my husband passed. He was very helpful and explained things in an way which was easy to understand. Bruce took his time and answered all my questions. I am happy that I made the decision to see him and discuss my situation.
Posted by Joseph | March 24, 2017
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Pleasant, thorough and patient.
My wife and I researched Estate Trust Attorneys and then arranged for a consultation visit with Mr. Kiselstein. We felt very confident early on that we wished to work with Bruce. He is very congenial and careful to speak clearly and explain legal concepts in terms that the lay community can understand, yet we never felt as if he was speaking down to us. Mr. Kiselstein took the time to carefully answer all of our questions and provide sufficient detailed information to ensure that we understood the necessary concepts. I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of time that he spent with us and his overall thoroughness. It is clear that he is a man that loves his work and that he truly wishes to help his clients. I am very happy with the trust that he developed for our family.
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Posted by Judie | March 4, 2017
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Peace of mind
My husband and I met with Bruce to establish a living revocable trust. We were under a bit of a time crunch with upcoming travel plans on our calendar. Bruce met with us soon after I called the office for an appointment and gave us a thorough explanation of this type of trust. His calm manner, his extensive knowledge of trusts and his attention to detail all came into play during our two appointments. Our living revocable trust was completed and signed in a timely manner, and now we can travel with peace of mind. We know that all will go smoothly for our children "when the time comes." Thank you, Bruce, for your excellent work. Judie
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Posted by Craig | January 17, 2017
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Living Trust
Bruce was very thorough in explaining the current laws of a trust. I had my old trust updated with current information. Bruce also helped me on a deed that needed to be filed as well.
Posted by anonymous | January 6, 2017
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Family Trust
I went to see Bruce Kisselstein to set up a family trust. He took the time to answer all of my questions and made sure that I understood everything .
Posted by John | December 24, 2016
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Great Experiene
Bruce is very knowledgable and patient. I will highly recommend him to my family and friends.
Posted by Angelo | December 15, 2016
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Trust review and update
We went to Bruce to review and update our existing trust, created by Bruce years earlier. Our situation had changed and since our initial experience with Bruce had been excellent we went back for a review and consultation. The office provided information to review in order to prepare for our consultation which went extremely well due to our preparation and Bruce's complete, and clear explanations. All questions were answered, information was clearly provided on all options available - including that of keeping the status quo - and our decision was to proceed with a complete update to our family trust. We are fully satisfied and pleased with the work provided by Bruce and his office. We will continue to utilize his office in the future.
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Posted by Jeffrey | November 21, 2016
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
One Great Trust
Bruce and his team created a trust for my family. He was very easy to listen to. He explained to us all of the working essentials of the trust. He provide us a clear plan to follow in writing and will help us if we stumble at any point. He was professional but not intimidating and made us comfortable during the whole process.
Posted by Thomas | November 1, 2016
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Provided new trust documents.
Initially we had an information gathering meeting that resulted in an agreement to have new trust documents created. Our original trust had been done 17 years ago by this attorney. In addition to providing new documents, our attorney spent 2 and 1/2 hours reviewing and explaining the documents contents and the need for us to see that the trust is correctly funded.
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Posted by anonymous | October 25, 2016
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Very Informed and Informational
Mr. Kiselstein appears to be very well versed in estate law and proactive in providing his clients with the most robust estate planning documents possible. He also took the time to explain, with examples, the information contained in the trusts and related documents.
Posted by Tom | October 24, 2016
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Excellent!
We are a repeat customer of Mr. Kiselstein. Our first estate planning was done in 2001 and we just finished an update (2016). Mr Kiselstein is very professional, is extremely thorough and insightful and does a wonderful job of explaining all the aspects of estate planning.
Posted by anonymous | September 1, 2016
This review is from a person who hired this attorney.
| Hired Attorney
Estate plan Pro
Shop no further, Mr Kiselstein is the one. He will handle your estate planning with excellent explanation and legal clarification. He did what he said he would do, at the quoted price. My wife and I would highly recommend Mr. Kiselstein for estate planning, trusts and probate.
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Resume

AVVO RATING 8.4 (Excellent)

Work Experience

  • Managing Partner
  • Kiselstein Franckowiak Law Group
  • 1990 - Present
  • Associate Attorney
  • McDowell & Colantoni, Ltd.
  • 1982 - 1990
  • Associate attorney
  • Law Office of Marvin Sachs, Ltd
  • 1979 - 1982
  • Associate attorney
  • Roseman & Morton Law Office
  • 1978 - 1979
View all work experience

Education

  • John Marshall Law School, Chicago
  • Graduate L.L.M Program in Taxation (no degree)
  • 1989
  • John Marshall Law School
  • JD - Juris Doctor
  • 1978
  • University of Connecticut
  • Bachelor of Arts
  • 1974

Legal Cases

  • Estate of Mealey
  • All assets were sold or liquidated and each beneficiary received the share they were entitled to under the estate plan while I was able to neutralize the possibilities of contesting the Will & the Trust

Associations

  • Northwest Community Hospital Foundation Planned Gifts Committee
  • Member
  • 2016 - Present
  • Northwest Suburban Estate Planning Council
  • Member
  • 2000 - Present
  • Northwest Suburban Estate Planning Council
  • President
  • 2013 - 2014
  • Northwest Suburban Estate Planning Council
  • First Vice-President
  • 2012 - 2013
  • Northwest Suburban Estate Planning Council
  • Second Vice-President
  • 2011 - 2012
  • Northwest Suburban Estate Planning Council
  • Director
  • 2005 - 2015
  • Chicago Bar Association, Tax Committee
  • Member
  • 1990 - 2000
  • Chicago Estate Planning Council
  • Member
  • 1989 - 2007
  • Chicago Bar Association
  • Member
  • 1978 - 2008
View all associations

Languages Spoken

  • English
  • Polish

Honors and Awards

  • Peer Review Rated
  • Martindale-Hubbell
  • 2018
  • A+ Rating
  • Better Businesss Bureau
  • 2016
  • Five Star Lawyer
  • Five Star
  • 2013
  • Five Star Lawyer
  • Five Star Professional
  • 2012
  • Martindale-Hubbell National Client Distinction Award
  • Martindale-Hubbell
  • 2012
  • Five Star Lawyer
  • Five Star Professional
  • 2011
View all awards

Publications

  • self published
  • The IRA Inheritance Trust
  • 2006
  • self published
  • Asset Protection Planning with the Personal Asset Trust
  • 2005

Speaking Engagements

  • NAMI Conference
  • Planning for Families with Special Needs Beneficiaries
  • 2013
  • Porte Brown LLC CPA's Conference
  • IRA Beneficiary Planning with IRA Inheritance Trusts
  • 2010
  • Northwest Radiology Associates Seminar
  • Advanced Estate Planning with LLC's, Irrevocable Insurance Trusts, & Qualified Residence Trusts
  • 2009
  • Northwest Cardiovascular Association Seminar
  • Advanced Estate Planning with LLC's, Irrevocable Insurance Trusts, & Qualified Residence Trusts
  • 2009
  • Michael Silver & Company CPA's Conference
  • IRA Beneficiary Planning with IRA Inheritance Trusts
  • 2009
  • Int'l Association of Machinists Conference
  • Estate & Asset Protection Planning with Trusts
  • 2009
  • NAMI Conference
  • Planning for Families with Special Needs Beneficiaries
  • 2008
  • ITW Senior Outreach
  • Estate & Asset Protection Planning with Trusts
  • 2008
  • Int'l Electronic Security Association Conference
  • Estate & Asset Protection Planning With Trusts
  • 2008
  • Independent Accountants Association of Illinois Conference
  • IRA Beneficiary Planning with IRA Inheritance Trusts
  • 2008
  • Schaumburg Public Library Adult Education
  • Avoiding Probate, Guardianship & Estate Taxes with Living Trusts
  • 2005
  • Schaumburg Public Library Adult Education
  • Avoiding Probate, Guardianship & Estate Taxes with Living Trusts
  • 2003
View all speaking engagements

Attorney endorsements

Received (5)
Given (3)
Endorse Bruce
Kerrianne Waters headshot
Kerrianne Waters
Estate planning Attorney | Aug 08
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community
"I endorse this lawyer. Mr. Kiselstein has knowledge and experience that are assets to his clients."
Alphonse A. Talarico headshot
Alphonse Talarico
Estate planning Attorney | Mar 04
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community
"I endorse this lawyer."
John M Gleason headshot
John Gleason
Estate planning Attorney | Oct 26
Relationship: Worked for lawyer
"I endorse this lawyer. I practiced with Bruce for almost six years. Not only is he highly qualified, but trustworthy and ethical. He embraces the role as counselor for the families who hire him for their estate plans."
Mary E. Vanek headshot
Mary Vanek
Estate planning Attorney | Jun 28
Relationship: Fellow lawyer in community
"Bruce has an outstanding expertise in the area of estate planning and trust administration. He is always a pleasure to work with, and I would never hesitate to refer clients to him."
Lenore Denise Franckowiak headshot
Lenore Franckowiak
Estate planning Attorney | Apr 28
Relationship: Co-worker
"Bruce Kiselstein is an experienced estate planning attorney who is able to take very complex issues and present them to clients in a manner which the client can easily understand. Clients that work with Bruce often state that all of their concerns were competently addressed in a compassionate and respectful way."
Mount Prospect Estate planning Lawyer Bruce Kiselstein
Bruce Kiselstein
Estate planning Attorney
Mount Prospect, IL
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